


Prom Night

by Beleriandings



Category: The Silmarillion and other histories of Middle-Earth - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-10
Updated: 2014-08-10
Packaged: 2018-02-12 15:53:26
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,345
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2115816
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Beleriandings/pseuds/Beleriandings
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Finwëans negotiate high school and the prospect of the dreaded prom. Celegorm and Aredhel decide to give Maedhros and Fingon a little push in the right direction.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Prom Night

"Didn’t see you at lunch today" said Findekáno, catching up to Maitimo outside the gates and punching him in the shoulder by way of greeting, as a gaggle of younger students flowed around them. "What was it this time? Prefect duty? Extra practice for the debating competition? Auditioning for the leading role in another play? Or did you spend it doing the essay you had due this afternoon" - he rolled his eyes but his tone was good-natured - "that you probably got an A+ for, to boot?"

Maitimo looked down at him, raising an eyebrow. “Actually” he said, “I was in the headmaster’s office. Moryo got into a fight, and neither mother nor father were answering their phones, so…” he shrugged, a cloud passing over his face.

Findekáno grimaced. “What did you do?”

"I told him off as best I could until the headmaster let us leave. I don’t think Moryo took it very seriously, he was trying not to laugh the whole time. I had to step on his foot to get him to shut up so that he seemed properly contrite. It was…  _hey, stop it! It’s not funny!_ ”

Findekáno was laughing, dodging the swipe of Maitimo’s notebook that was aimed at his arm. “It’s pretty funny, you’ve got to admit. Did Moryo win the fight at least?”

Maitimo pulled Findekáno by the sleeve onto the side of the pavement, to avoid a gang of young children, as they reached the playground gates. “He had a black eye, so I should say not” said Maitimo. “My little brother is good at picking fights, but less good at avoiding getting himself punched.”

Findekáno gave him a bright smile. “It’s just as well he’s got a big brother like you then, who is willing to take a break from being a teachers’ pet to pretend-tell-him-off and bail him out of such situations.”

Maitimo narrowed his eyes. “I swear, Fin, I can never tell whether you’re mocking me or not…”

"I’m not! I’m completely serious!"

Maitimo appeared to pause, looking somewhat mollified. “Thanks, Findekáno.”

————-

"Anyone sitting here?"

Findekáno glanced up from his homework, and, seeing Maitimo holding a lunch tray, his face broke into a smile. “Maitimo! You came!”

"I told you I would! Did you think I would break my promise?"

"I thought you’d probably be getting one of your little brothers out of trouble again. Or, you know, sucking up to the teachers. One or the other."

Maitimo made a show of looking affronted. “Why, Findekáno, how could you suggest such a thing? I’m offended!”

Findekáno laughed. “Well, do you deny it?”

Maitimo shook his head. “You’re cruel to me, Fin. Cruel.”

Findekáno grinned, taking a sip of juice. “Stop complaining and eat your lunch.”

Maitimo shot him a dark look but concentrated on his spaghetti for a while, as Findekáno doodled idly in the margins of his notebook, watching Maitimo from under his lashes. Finally Maitimo caught his eye before Findekáno could look away.

"What?"

"Nothing" said Findekáno innocently. "Except… you’ve got tomato sauce on your nose. And on your chin."

Maitimo crossed his eyes, trying ineffectually to see his nose. “Where? Here?”

"No" said Findekáno, reaching out to wipe away a smudge. "Just… there."

"Is it gone?"

Findekáno frowned. “No… it’s not coming off…”

Suddenly Tyelkormo flopped down in the chair beside Maitimo. “Afternoon all.” He grabbed Maitimo’s half-finished bowl of spaghetti. “If you’re not going to finish it, Nelyo…” he looked up, fork frozen halfway to his mouth. “Finno, what are you doing scrubbing at Nelyo’s freckles? You know they’re not going to come off… actually, you know what? I don’t want to know. What you two do in your alone time is none of my - “

"Tyelko! Stop. And Fin, that was a freckle…?"

Findekáno felt himself blushing. “I thought…”

The bell rang, signalling the end of lunch.

————-

"Hey, Fin" said Maitimo, snagging the back of Findekáno’s rucksack as he turned a corner, looking at the floor. "What’s wrong?"

Findekáno whirled around. “Oh, it’s you!” He forced his face into a smile. “Wrong? Nothing! Nothing’s wrong. Everything’s fine!”

Maitimo pursed his lips thoughtfully, leaning against the wall. “You were about the walk into the corner” he pointed out. “And you should have seen the expression on your face. Is it calculus again? Because I can help with - “

Findekáno made a face. “It’s not calculus.”

"Then what?"

Findekáno looked up, first at Maitimo, and then at the poster on the wall between them. It showed a smiling girl and boy dancing together. “Prom?” asked Maitimo, raising an eyebrow, his heartbeat accelerating a little. “Is that it?”

Findekáno shrugged, looking at the floor. “It’s just… Turukáno’s got a date already, and… well… I haven’t.”

"Well of course Turukáno has a date" said Maitimo, suddenly self-conscious. "He and Elenwë have been dating for… how long is it now?"

"How is it that you knew about that before I did anyway?" snapped Findekáno. He peered up at Maitimo suspiciously. "Anyone you’re going with that I should know about? A secret girlfriend perhaps?"

Maitimo blushed furiously. “Fin… I… I meant to tell you, but…”

"Wait…" Findekáno’s mouth dropped open. "I was joking but… alright, who is it?"

"Your sister… Irissë…" Maitimo’s blush crept to the tips of his ears, and he held up his hands in mock defence to still Findekáno’s outburst. "She asked me, okay! And my feelings for her are very… uh… platonic. I promise! If you ask me, I think she’s trying to make Tyelko jealous…" he faltered. "Fin, are you alright? I… say something, Findekáno!"

"I…" Findekáno was looking at his shoes. "No, that’s okay" he spat. "I’m sure the two of you will have a very good, very  _platonic_  time.” Maitimo tried to speak, but he cut him off. “I just wish either my sister or my best friend would bother to maybe, I don’t know,  _tell_  me that they were going to prom together!”

"I  _did_  tell you” protested Maitimo weakly. “Just then! I… Fin, come back!” 

But Findekáno was already walking away from him, pushing past the students milling about the hall to his next class. 

————

"You look beautiful, Irissë" said Maitimo, offering her his arm. She truly did, he thought. Her dress was white satin, with a spray of lace about the low-cut bodice, matching well with the lily corsage he had given her. Her hair was bound back with ornate antique-looking pearl combs, one on either side of her head. Irissë had beautiful hair, Maitimo found himself thinking, thick and curly and dark, just like Findekáno’s… he shook his head a little. Irissë gave him that smile she had that he always found a little disconcerting; she always gave off the impression of knowing more than she let on.

"Shall we go?" she said, taking his arm and straightening her corsage. 

"Oh. Yes. Let’s go."

The hall glittered with tiny fairy lights, and though there was feedback from the microphone, Macalaurë’s band was good enough to make up for it, Maitimo thought. Few people were dancing yet, and Maitimo and Irissë went to get a glass of punch while they waited for more to arrive. Grinning, Irissë took a tiny silver flask from the bodice of her dress and subtly poured a little into her own and Maitimo’s glasses, with a wink. He took a sip.

"Ah! That’s foul! Irissë, what - "

"Ssh! Look, it’s Finno and Amarië!"

She pointed at the door. Sure enough, there was Findekáno, with a rather disgruntled looking Amarië - a Vanyarin exchange student, who always seemed to manage to look mightily unimpressed -  on his arm. Her dress was pale gold, rather clashing with the bright red tiger-lily corsage he had got for her. Findekáno tugged at his shirt collar nervously, his eyes sweeping around the room. 

Findaráto had come over and begun talking animatedly to them, but Findekáno seemed to only be half-listening. When Findekáno’s eyes seemed about to fall on him, Maitimo took Irissë’s hand. “Shall we dance?”

Irissë smiled, pulling him close to her. “I’d love to.”

They spun around the dance floor, although there were few other couples there. To Maitimo it felt a relief. “So” said Irissë, after a while. “What are you intending to do about my brother?”

Maitimo nearly jumped, but managed to keep his step. “ _Do_ … about…?”

"Finno" said Irissë matter-of-factly, giving a put-upon sigh. She squinted at him. "Oh… oh, Maitimo. Oh no, I didn’t mean for you to think that I asked you to the prom because I actually  _liked_  you, you know.” She saw Maitimo’s expression. “I mean… I like you! Of course I like you! But you know… as a friend, et cetera, blah blah blah… but really, you and Finno should get a move on and sleep together. Or at least kiss. The tension is killing us all, really.”

"I was under the impression" said Maitimo frostily "that you asked me to the prom to make my brother jealous… you didn’t break up then?"

Irissë laughed. “Break up? Me and Tyelko? No, we’re fine!” She grimaced. “It was actually his idea that I ask you tonight, to make  _Finno_  jealous and make absolutely sure the two of you ended up together, since you seem to be incapable of working things out for yourselves. Besides, Tyelko and I… we don’t have a very prom-date-ish sort of relationship. I would call it more of a…” she cast around for the right words. “…A ‘crashing parties and kissing other people before getting kebabs and falling into bed with each other at the end of the night’ sort of relationship.”

Maitimo frowned. “I see.”

"But you and Finno!" squealed Irissë. "Please tell me you two have - "

"We haven’t done anything!" snapped Maitimo, suddenly frustrated. 

"But you want him."

"I…" Maitimo stared at her. "I… yes. No! Well… maybe. Yes I do. But…"

"Excellent! Because let me tell you" she rolled her eyes. "He most certainly wants  _you_. You should try reading his diary some time.” She threw her hands into the air. “The poetry! It almost killed me. And then there were the  _pictures_ …”

"Wait. You read his diary?"

"Well… a bit. But you must understand, Nelyo, it was all in his own best interests! In the name of getting him - "

“ _You read my diary?_ ”

They both whipped around. There was Findekáno, blushing scarlet and looking as though he were about to break something. He avoided Maitimo’s eye. 

Before either of them could respond, Tyelkormo appeared as though from nowhere. “Brother” he said smoothly to Maitimo, not even trying to hide his conspiratorial wink at Irissë, “may I borrow this lovely young lady for a dance?”

Maitimo scowled. “Irissë was just telling me all about the nature of your relationship, Tyelko, and I don’t think - “

Irissë’s smile was sweet and perfectly innocent. “Oh, Maitimo, please? I promise I’ll check back in on you soon!”

Maitimo sighed. “All right.”

"You’re such a gentleman." She kissed his cheek, taking the moment to nod at Findekáno, and whisper "he’s all yours" in Maitimo’s ear. 

Then Irissë was smiling at her brother, pouring him a glass of punch and topping it off with a liberal dash of whatever was in the little silver flask. Findekáno made a face. “Irissë, what - “

But she was already halfway across the dancefloor with Tyelkormo, as Macalaurë began a slow rock ballad. 

Findekáno gulped down the rest of his drink, still not looking at Maitimo. “Ugh. What did Irissë put in this? Where did my little sister get that appalling stuff?”

"Best not to question" said Maitimo, grimacing. "Where’s Amarië then?"

Findekáno made a face, gesturing towards the other side of the dancefloor, where Amarië and Findaráto were twined tightly in each others’ arms, their lips locked together in a deep kiss.

"That didn’t take long" said Maitimo dryly, finishing his drink.

Findekáno sighed. “No. No it did not. Still” he stretched his arms above him, loosening his collar a little and yawning. “I’m not sure I like this whole prom thing much anyway.”

"No?" said Maitimo, leaning against the wall.

"No" said Findekáno, "I’ve missed you, Maitimo. Where have you been the last few weeks? I haven’t seen you much."

"I’ve been… I’ve been giving you space. To get yourself a date. It’s hard to ask someone with your boring cousin trailing around after you all the time."

"Yeah, and look how that turned out." He frowned. "Besides, if either of us is the boring cousin, I fear it’s me."

"No! No, you’re certainly not the boring cousin! I mean…" he grasped for the right words. "Fin, you’re very…"

Findekáno looked up at his, his blue eyes dark in the dim light. “Very what?”

Their faces were close together now. Maitimo swallowed. “You’re very…”

"Oh just kiss him already!" came a voice from behind them. "One of you! Hurry up!"

Maitimo blushed furiously. “I’m sorry about your sister.”

Findekáno laughed. “No,  _I’m_  sorry about my sister. But… maybe she has a point, in that…”

He didn’t get any further; Maitimo cupped Findekáno’s face in his hands and kissed him, soft and cautiously at first, but then growing deeper. Finally they broke apart, and Maitimo found himself searching Findekáno’s upturned face, the fairy lights reflecting as bright points in those blue eyes as Findekáno stared at Maitimo, drinking him in, enthralled. Findekáno slipped a tentative hand around Maitimo’s waist. “Well, I’ll admit. There are certain good aspects to this whole prom thing.”

Maitimo smiled. “Glad to hear it.”

—————

 ”So…” Findekáno had met him at the bus stop on the way to school, as they did every day. “Do you have time to take a break from little brother babysitting and come over to my house after school, or…?”

Their hands swung between them, their little fingers just brushing. “I think so. I can pick the twins up from daycare and get Macalaurë to watch them. He owes me a favour or two anyway.”

Findekáno reached for Maitimo’s hand, giving it a furtive little squeeze. “Good. I’m looking forward to it.”

"Me too, Fin. Me too."


End file.
